When the Black Eagle Sings
by thathalguy
Summary: "The child of the moon shall wed your son when the river flows red and the black eagle sings." What will this prophesy hold for prince Roderich and the girl in the tower? WARNING: RAPUNZEL PARODY, VIOLENCE, MINOR GORE, FEM!PRUSSIA


A long time ago, there was a couple that lived in sorrow, for they had no children. They lived in a cottage with a window that looked out on a lush garden, but no one dared enter the garden, for it belonged to a Witch that was feared by all. The wife gazed at the beautiful garden, longing to taste some of the delicious foods that grew within, and soon her longing caused her to grow weak and frail. She begged her husband to bring her some of the potatoes from the witch's garden, or else she would die. He loved his wife and couldn't bear to live without her, so that night he snuck into the garden and stole some potatoes, returning to his wife, who cooked and ate them, her desire for the wonderful things in the garden growing, so that she craved the root desperately, asking her husband to bring her more. Again, he went to the garden, but the Witch waiting for him,

"So you think you can steal from my garden and get away with it?" Terrified, the man fell to his knees and begged for her to forgive him,

"My wife asked me to get some potatoes from your garden, and I didn't want her to die from her desire to eat them." The witch took pity on him, and allowed him to take as many potatoes as he wished, but only with the condition that they give her their child. She promised to take good care of her and raise her like her own. Still fearful of her, the man agreed to her terms, and it seemed all too soon their child was born and the witch came to claim their newborn daughter.

The child was beautiful, with skin the color of moonlight, hair like the finest silver, and eyes as red as fresh roses. She was named Gillian, and the witch kept her in a tower with no doors or stairs, only a window at the top. Now Gillian had very long hair, since the witch never cut it, so whenever she wanted to visit Gillian, she would stand at the bottom and call up,

"Gillian, my moonshine, let down your hair so fine." Gillian's hair would be let down through the window, and the witch would climb up. Of course, with all of this time alone, Gillian amused herself in odd ways, pretending to fight, with a candlestick as her 'sword', talking to passing birds, anything that she found entertaining, sometimes pestering the witch to tell her what the world was like outside the tower. Of course, this did get irritating for the witch after a while, because despite her fair looks, Gillian was not very charming. She was downright rough at times, earning her plenty of scars from when she would race around the tower and get injured while the witch was away. Her most prominent scar was the one across her right cheek from when she was younger and tripped over her hair, crashing into the mirror and breaking it, a shard cutting her cheek. She often claimed they were 'battle scars' from her imagined conquests of foes. Among the many birds that passed her tower, one in particular always came to visit him, a little eaglet, soft and fluffy to the touch, and very friendly, earning the name Gilbird, for Gillian was a bit narcissistic, since the witch would tell her she was the prettiest of all the women in the world, and spoiled her a little too much.

Now there was a palace near the woods, and the son of the king and queen had been raised to be very prim and proper as princes should be, learning art and music from the finest teachers. One day, a soothsayer stopped the king as he was riding through the streets,

"Your Majesty, I have seen signs, the Gods have bid me tell you their words." He said, "The child of the moon shall wed your son when the river flows red and the black eagle sings."

"Child of the moon? What do you mean?" The king asked, but he would say no more, walking away. The king was very confused, but told the prophecy to his Queen and son when he returned home. The young prince, Roderich, frowned,

"The only time that a river would be red is when the sunset shines on it, or when blood gets into it." He said, and the king looked troubled,

"And eagles are a sign of war... I hope this 'child of the moon' will not start one." The next day, Roderich rode into the woods, exploring, and stopped when he heard a voice, following the sound to the tower, and Gillian sat in the window talking quite happily to Gilbird, her voice was gruffer than most, but still held a somewhat sweet tone. Roderich wondered what she was doing in a tower, away from everything, but he was more fascinated by how pale she was, accentuated by her white clothes. Roderich kept himself out of sight when her head turned, and he was stunned to see her blood-red eyes boldly standing out in comparison to her pale complexion. When he returned home, he described the woman to his parents, and the king rubbed his chin,

"Could this be the moon child that is in the prophesy?"

"I do not know, but she is kept in a tower with only a window, so whoever put her there clearly doesn't want her to be brought back down." Roderich said, and the king sighed,

"Perhaps you should see who holds her there." Roderich nodded and every day he went to watch the pale girl in her tower.

Finally the witch returned, a tall woman with pale blond hair, violet eyes, and an innocent-looking smile that lingered on her lips. She didn't know Roderich watched from a distance as she called up to the window with an eerily sweet voice,

"Gillian, my moonshine, let down your hair so fine~" Roderich's mouth fell open as the window opened and a cascade of sliver tumbled down, barely brushing the ground. With a giggle, the witch climbed up the hair and was pulled into the tower. Roderich watched Gillian gather up her hair, hearing the witch laugh some, "Goodness, Gillian, you haven't brushed your hair at all! Just look at all of those tangles~ Come, bring me the brush and I'll make your hair nice and soft again~" The prince thought that he might try visiting the girl, and so Roderich waited until dusk after the witch had left before going to the tower and calling up,

"Gillian, my moonshine, let down your hair so fine." Of course, Gillian didn't even think to wonder why her 'mother' sounded different, just tossing her hair out the window and bracing herself to haul the heavy woman back up. But this time, the weight on her hair was lighter and easier to pull in, the pale girl looking startled when the person who entered was not her mother, but some strange new person.

"Who are you?" She demanded, grabbing a candlestick and brandishing it like a weapon, "What are you doing impersonating Mother and invading my home?"

"I am Roderich." He said gently, staying by the window, "I noticed you were alone in this tower when your mother was away, so I wanted to keep you company." Gillian gave him a skeptical look, but slowly approached him, looking him over,

"...You dress funny." She said, circling him, poking and prodding at the brunette with a frown, "Are you one of those 'man' things Mother talks about?" She stopped in front of him, red eyes burning as she grabbed his chin, turning his head this way and that, even forcing his mouth open to inspect, "You don't have fangs..." She grabbed his hands, inspecting them, comparing them to her own, "Your hands are kinda like mine... No claws..." Suddenly she grabbed his pants, making him yelp and push her hands away, eyes wide as pink dusted his cheeks,

"W-what are you doing?" He stammered, and she looked up, her expression calculating,

"I'm checking to see if there's a snake attached to you." Roderich went horribly red, stammering for words,

"Th-there's not a snake!" As if to make things worse, her next move was to grab his chest and feel there,

"Hmm... No lumps..." She gave him a hard look, "What ARE you?" The poor prince just felt violated, fixing his clothes,

"I'm a prince." He said, composing himself as she circled him again before she began to move away,

"Prince... You mean those things that only think of themselves and never get their hands dirty?" She looked back at him, crimson eyes giving him another once-over before she began the process of gathering her hair up, "You don't much look like one, but..." She paused, getting a firm grip of her hair, and it was only then that Roderich realized she'd gotten it wrapped around his ankles while circling him. She yanked sharply, and the brunette fell to the floor with a loud thud, "I can't let you just waltz in here like you own the place." Roderich groaned in pain, slowly sitting up and rubbing his head,

"I didn't mean to be rude..." He said, wincing, scooting back to lean against the wall, "Why does your mother keep you here?" Gillian paused, frowning a bit, collecting her hair together and sitting down to start putting it up in a more manageable style, weaving it intricately so that it wouldn't drag behind her,

"Mother says that she didn't want me to be hurt by the bad things out there, but honestly, it's boring up here. She rarely visits, and the only things I have to do is talk to birds." Gillian continued weaving her hair, frowning some more, "And I don't like having to keep my hair this long. It's heavy, and inconvenient, and I trip over it almost every day, and it takes forever to brush." Roderich watched in silence, blinking a bit as more of her hair was put into the complex weaving, slowly nearing the end,

"Have you ever tried to leave?" He asked and Gillian paused, tilting her head to the side,

"I'm curious what it's like out there..." She said, her hands going back to work, looking at the window thoughtfully, "But how would I get down?" Roderich thought for a while, and Gillian finished putting her hair up, getting to her feet again,

"Have you ever tried cutting your hair?" Gillian paused, thinking it over and tapping her chin with her fingers,

"Hm... I could try that... Cut it and tie it to something so I can get down..." She nodded, walking over to him and pulling him to his feet, "Tell me what it's like out there." She demanded, and Roderich began describing some of the things he had seen in his life. When he was done, Gillian glanced at the window, "Morning is approaching. Mother might come back." The pale girl snatched the dagger from Roderich's belt, yanking at her woven hair to let it tumble free, piling at her feet. Examining it, she muttered, "I don't want to lose all of it... So maybe..." She gathered up a handful and cut it, the silver hair falling free, the tips brushing the back of her thighs. Satisfied, Gillian tied the rest of the extensive hair to a table near the window and grinned, tossing it out and watching the mass move like a silver waterfall.

"Then you will be joining me when I return home?" Roderich asked, and Gillian nodded, grinning, offering him the hair,

"You first. This knot isn't gonna hold for both of us." Roderich nodded and climbed down, waiting at the bottom as Gillian tugged on the knot a bit before leaping out and sliding down, the knot coming undone when the was nearly at the bottom, and Gillian yipped when she dropped to the ground, the hair falling in a heap around her. After helping her out of the pile, Roderich led her to his horse, being a gentleman and helping her up before getting on himself, settling behind her and trying not to blush when she leaned against him, riding back to the city with her. Gillian looked thrilled by all of the new things around her, twisting and turning to see as much as she could, looking even more excited when they reached the city, and the palace.

"What do you think, Gillian?" Roderich asked, and she grinned widely,

"This is awesome!" She cried, and practically leapt off the horse when they stopped, but Roderich grabbed her arm before she could run off,

"There are some people you must meet first. Come with me." He led Gillian through the castle to the court, the king looking relieved,

"Roderich! Thank god, I thought you had gotten lost!" Roderich winced a bit, his sense of direction wasn't the best, but the horse knew where to go,

"I'm quite alright, Father." He brought Gillian forward, who looked at the couple on the thrones critically, "This is the girl." Gillian vaguely bowed, then grinned widely,

"Hi! I'm Gillian, the awesomest girl in the world!" She said loudly, and Roderich put a hand over his eyes with a groan, but the King just laughed,

"Welcome to our court, Gillian." They talked a while longer and gave Gillian a room in the castle to rest.

The next morning, the witch returned to the tower, calling up to the window. When she got no response, the witch frowned, looking around and spotting the pile of hair at the bottom of the tower. She rushed around, tearing some of the vines off the wall to reveal a walled-up doorway, pulling the stones out and rushing up the secret staircase to search the room, finding no sign of Gillian and scowling darkly, leaving the tower and making her way out of the wood, giving the nearby city a hard stare,

"You will pay..." She quietly promised, an icy wind sweeping her hair and coat around as a dark shadow hovered behind her.

Gillian spent the next week forcing Roderich to show her around the city, eagerly learning all she could about the place. After seven days had passed and the sun began to set while Roderich and Gillian were away from the castle, the witch appeared before the king, an icy glare on her face as she pointed to the king,

"You have stolen something important from me. If you do not return it to me then consider yourself at war, King." Speechless with fear, the King said nothing, a loud laugh interrupting the tense silence as the doors were pushed open and Gillian walked in, laughing, her hand held in Roderich's,

"That was awesome, Roddy! This place is way cooler than a tower! I should have done this years ago!" She stopped suddenly when she saw who was standing in the room, a chilling air filling the room as a sickly sweet smile slid onto the witch's face,

"Gillian, there you are. I had been worried about you." She cooed, but Gillian didn't return the smile, "Come home now, won't you?" There was another long silence of the two staring each other down before Gillian let a fake smile twitch her lips upward,

"Sorry, Mother. I'm bored of home. I like it here." The witch's smile vanished in favor of a scowl, the air growing colder,

"You will come home, Gillian." She said firmly, but Gillian just scoffed, setting a hand on her hip,

"No." She said bluntly, "Go away." Gillian was the only one who didn't flinch when the witch made a hissing noise, a raspy chanting of the sound 'kol', here amethyst eyes darkening,

"You will regret your choice Gillian." She snarled, "This kingdom will be left in ruins because of you." Gillian didn't move, her eyes narrowing slightly as the witch left in a flurry of snow and ice.

"G-Gillian, please." The King said shakily, "There's no need for-"

"Silence." Gillian's voice was sharp, her red eyes cold and hard like unforgiving rubies as she straightened up, "This is no time for hesitation." Her gaze locked on to the king's as she spoke, "This is a time for war. A war I will win." With that, Gillian turned on her heel and went to her room, putting on an outfit she liked, white, thigh-high boots, a short black skirt, a white shirt, a blue and red coat lined with gold, and white gloves. She put on a belt, choosing the best sword from the armory, then headed into the city, walking toward the north gate where the icy wind was blowing from. People flinched away from the cold glare on her face and she passed the gate in silence, standing at the stone bridge that stretched across the river that snaked through the city. She stood waiting for the witch and when night fell, she came with beasts of the forests and horrid monsters that she controlled.

For a week, Gillian did not leave the bridge, slaughtering whatever was sent her way. The witch's forces were dwindling, and by the seventh day, Gillian was still standing there, exhausted from not sleeping at all for a week, but she fed on the raw meat of the slain beasts to quiet her hunger, and now the witch approached her alone, a proud but cruel smile on her face as she stopped a few feet away from the bloodstained girl,

"Look at you, Gillian~" She cooed, amethyst eyes running over the pale girl, "A true warrior, aren't you? Killing everything that approached you~" Gillian's crimson eyes glared at the tall woman, sword gripped in her hand, licking the blood that stained her mouth, "Won't you come home now, dear? I do miss you~" Gillian just snarled, narrowing her eyes,

"Your blood shall fill the river with the rest of your monsters." She said icily, an the witch sighed sadly as a shadowy figure appeared behind her, the bitterly cold wind that accompanied it biting at Gillian's skin,

"What a pity. I really will have to kill you." Gillian just scoffed, lifting her sword and charging the woman, forcing the blade through her gut so suddenly that the witch's heart fell from her chest into Gillian's waiting hand, the cold muscle beating in her hand. With a harsh shove, Gillian forced the witch over the side of the bridge and into the water where other carcasses lay. The pale woman watched blood pour from the woman's chest as she heaved bodies into the water to trap the witch beneath them, still alive since her heart was beating in Gillian's hand. Once she was certain the witch was securely buried under the dead, Gillian slipped into the clear water upstream from the carcasses to wash the blood off, returning to the castle with the heart in her hand.

The city cheered for her, the strongest men carrying her on their shoulders to the castle where the king, queen, and Roderich waited for her. Gillian smiled tiredly at them, walking up the steps to greet them, offering the witch's heart,

"The witch lies at the bottom of the river among the dead. If you wish her dead, then destroy her heart." Before they could move, a black eagle swooped down and snatched the beating heart, flying to the moat that encircled the castle and was fed by the river, perching on the edge to pick at the organ.

"Gillian, for your brave duty helping our kingdom, I thank you deeply." The king said, smiling at her, "Is there anything you would like as a reward?" Gillian smiled, pulling Roderich close,

"I dunno, but I'm kinda fond of your son." She said, and the king smiled, the people of the city gasping,

"The river! The river is red!" Gillian looked, and sure enough the water of the moat flowed with a dark red hue, and the eagle was still eating the witch's heart. The King quieted the crowd, guiding Roderich and Gillian to stand facing each other,

"By the power given to me, I pronounce Prince Roderich and Gillian man and wife." The crowd cheered, startling the eagle to fly away, the remnants of its meal falling into the moat, letting out a melodic cry as Gillian happily kissed Roderich, hugging him tightly. Once she stepped back, Gillian giggled at how red Roderich was, taking his hand,

"Come on, Roddy, I really need to sleep. I've been awake for seven days killing things." The prince nodded to his new princess, leading her into the castle to the sound of cheers.

In the days after, Roderich discovered Gillian had developed a taste for raw meat, and whenever someone tried to lay siege to the city, Gillian would slaughter the attackers on her own, making her name known far and wide as the 'White Demon' that could destroy armies in a week. Despite her reputation, Gillian remained as boisterous and energetic as ever, dragging her husband along to go on adventures to learn more about the world. The black eagle that had shown up became Gillian's pet and mascot, accompanying her to fight, or soaring above her when she and Roderich explored. It took Gillian a little while to realize why this particular bird stayed with her, but then she recalled her eaglet friend who kept her company in the tower. Gilbird looked very happy that she remembered him, and Gillian continued to talk to him like they used to.

All in all, she lived very happily with Roderich to the end of her days.


End file.
